One Last Time
by dariuscross
Summary: An elderly Richard Castle travels to the past to give himself and Beckett a brighter future. Does he manage?
1. Chapter 1

Authors Note: It's been a while since I published and I'm sorry about that. Between my computer dying and writer's block it's been a ride.

This story first showed up in a dream and has been bouncing around in my head for a month or so. It's of course AU and sadly I don't own Castle. If I did they'd have moved to TNT and we'd be enjoying season 9 with a full cast.

Richard Castle was an old man now and he felt it. Not just in what was left of his body but in his soul but he'd felt that weight since he lost his wife in the same ambush that had taken his ability to walk leaving him to raise their six kids by himself from a wheelchair. His once ocean blue eyes had been a dull stone grey ever since.

At seventy-five years old his hair was as white as the snow that fell outside his window. Unlike when he was younger, his face now bore a well groomed but full beard and stache. His wrinkles were like deep creases in his once ruggedly handsome face. He let out one of his thousand sighs a day then blinked when his daughters hand landed on his shoulder. It was Johanna, his second eldest and first child with his third and last wife. They'd named her after his wife's mother, who had long since passed even before they had met.

He smiled at his daughter, she was practically a clone of her mother and it made him feel as though his wife was still with him in some respects. He tilted his head up when she spoke

"I have everything together Dad. Are you sure you want to do this? There's no way to know how it will effect the timeline"

Castle glanced out the window then back to Jo

"I'm sure honey, just as I'm sure there are infinite timelines and that my going back will only alter one of them, not all of them. I just need to see her one more time before I die"

Johanna crouched next to his chair and took his hand in hers

"I know Dad and given the doctors don't expect you to make it through the week... you have nothing to lose right?"

Castle nodded and squeezed her hand. He'd spent the previous night with all seven of his children explaining his plans and saying his goodbyes

"I wont survive the trip back, but that's okay. You've all got your mother's strength, you'll all do us both proud because you already have and continue to"

Johanna wiped a tear from her cheek with a sniffle

"I love you Daddy"

Castle leaned over and kissed her forehead softly

"I love you too Jo Jo and I always will"

She sniffled again but flashed him a brilliant smile before standing up and walking towards her lab.

"Everything is ready for the transport and I've got the folders you wanted put together. Everything is evidence that could have been gotten legally at the time if you'd have known what to look for. It's more than enough for Mom and the young you to close the case"

She walked over a table, picked up a few fat manila envelopes, then returned setting them on his lap.

"I'm going to tell her to send one copy anonymously to Jordan Shaw, impress upon her that she can't do it herself as much as she'll want to. If she gets involved my going back will be for nothing"

Johanna nodded and kissed his cheek before hugging him tight

"You do what you think is right Dad. I'll see you again someday"

He returned the hug with all his might, which isn't much in his weakened state

"Just not too soon Jo Jo, have a long happy life first"

She stood upright and nodded a few times

"I'll do my best Dad"

He just nodded and looked at the folders in his lap. She took a deep breath and opened a large chamber for him. He drove his wheelchair inside and turned around. Once the door was shut he waved with a smile then nodded for her to do it. Moments later he was engulfed in a strange steam and he disappeared leaving his daughter silently crying behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

When he reappeared he checked the watch Jo had given him. He smiled cause it was the day after they had closed the nanny case. He looked around the hall, it having been a very long time since he'd seen these walls. He'd been shadowing her for a year when Scott Dunn had blown up this apartment. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves, wishing he had whiskey for this, then drove up to her door and knocked.

Inside the apartment Detective Beckett was flopped out on her couch, as irritated as she always was when her Captain made her take her days off. She lifted her head at the knock, when it came a second time she stood up and moved to the door. When she looked through the peephole all she saw was the top of someones head. Intrigued she opened the door and blinked. The man in front of her looked like a much older Castle.

When the door opened his eyes were instantly filled with tears, his voice a whisper as he said her name. The whisper filled with longing, love and pain and accompanied by two silent tears making their way down his cheeks.

Her curiosity turned to confusion with the way the elder man said her name. She cleared her throat

"Can I help you?"

Castle wiped at his cheeks and shook his head. His voice the same as it always had been

"No, but I've come to help you. Can I come in? I mean obviously I'm no threat to you"

He motioned to his wheelchair. After a moment she nodded and he drove past her.

"It's been a long time since I've seen this apartment, it looks exactly how I remember it..."

He said absently as he drove over to the couch and parked so that she could sit on the couch. She blinked at it all as she locked up the door then moved to the couch.

"I seem to be at a disadvantage. You act like you know me but I don't know you"

Castle chuckled

"You do, just a much younger me. In fact you just cleared a homicide yesterday with me where one nanny killed another over a man who was sleeping with both of them"

Beckett's eyes widened and she sat up straight

"How could you know that? Is this some kind of joke?"

Castle shook his head slowly, lifting the blanket over his legs just enough so she can see the atrophied sticks he calls legs

"This is no joke Kate. I know you're Miss Skepticus Maximus, but I've come back from a grim future to try and save us both years of pain. I know you haven't known me.. him long, but ask me anything you need to for you to believe me"

Becketts eyes narrow at the man in front of her. The entire scenario absurd to her, but he shows no signs of mental illness and the atrophied legs certainly can't be faked.

"Alright, tell me something about myself that the Castle I know doesn't know yet"

Castle chuckled

"Wow, give me a vault to choose from why don't you. I apologize ahead of time, I'm just going to use the big one. On January 9th 1999 your mother was attacked in an alley in Washington Heights and was stabbed multiple times. She did not survive her injuries. You were home on break from Stanford, majoring in law, and waiting for your mother at an Italian restaurant with your father. When she didn't arrive, you both went home to find Detective John Raglan waiting for you. You were taken to the scene where you identified her body. Your father held on to sobriety till the funeral then dove head first into alcoholism. You dropped out of Stanford, moved back to New York to take care of your father, and spent a year being reckless. Once you came to your senses you enrolled in NYU majoring in criminal justice. Once you got your diploma you joined the police academy. A year after you got your badge your father finally got sober and a year after that you got your detective's shield. Is that enough?"

Becketts eyes were dark with sorrow, her cheeks wet from tears. Her mind trying desperately to come up with a way for him to know all of that but she knew there was only one way... that he was telling the truth. Her voice was raw when she spoke

"Alright, as much as I don't want to I believe you. There's no other way you could know that in such detail"

He nodded sadly

"I know, that's why I chose it and I'm sorry I hurt you in doing so. It's just not as convincing as your favorite color being purple, you started reading my books to feel close to your mother, and you like to dance around in your underwear and a sports top while doing laundry"

He chuckled and she blushed hotly but laughed a little

"True but those are convincing too. So why are you here Castle?"

Castle rubbed his chest over his heart a little then took a deep breath

"Several reasons actually. I've brought you a packet. In this packet is everything needed to identify all the players in your mothers murder and convict them. However.."

He held his hand up when she went to speak

"However, it is far far too dangerous for you to do the investigation yourself. I need you to mail one of these packets to Special Agent Jordan Shaw with the F.B.I. anonymously. You can keep the other for yourself but you must. not. investigate or make any moves on it whatsoever"

Beckett is trembling by now with emotion, her eyes on the packets in his lap

"Why can't I do it myself, it's what I became a cop to do..."


	3. Chapter 3

Castle sighed and took her shaking hand in his leathered one

"Because if you do, they will kill you Kate. Let me tell you what happened in my timeline"

She nodded silently and didn't try to remove her hand from his grasp, finding it somehow grounding.

"The first year I shadowed you I opened your mothers case to see if I could spot something that someone so emotionally tied to the investigation might overlook. See if my unique way of looking at things could come up with something and to of course use my vast contacts to have a forensic pathologist try to put together some pieces. He did find something but you felt so betrayed that you kicked me out of the precinct. Three months later I finally got you to forgive me but the can of worms was open. Can I get a bottle of water please?"

Beckett was listening intently, trying her best to absorb what he was saying so when he asked for water it threw her a moment before she stood up.

"Of course, I should have offered when you got here"

She returned with several bottles and handed him one. After watching him struggle a few moments she reached over and unscrewed the cap. He took a long drink even though his hand was shaking then set the bottle on her coffee table

"Thank you, being old sucks. Arthritis in my hands makes it hard to do things"

He paused a moment to think then nodded

"okay right, can of worms was open. A few months later a case came up and it revealed that your mothers murder was a hired hit. The hitman was in custody for another murder... it was complicated. In the end he took me hostage to get out of the precinct. He almost shot me, but you shot him first killing him. We didn't get another lead for a year, during that case Esposito and Ryan were taken hostage and were being subjected to the water barrel torture. We saved them, arrested another assassin and got another piece of the puzzle. A few months later the assasin escaped, a few more pieces were revealed and another person died before he was killed. A few days later I was milliseconds too late and you were shot during the funeral"

His voice got choked up at that point so he drank some more water and let out a few shuttering breaths. Beckett, not knowing what else to do, just squeezed his hand. She had no words for the information he was giving her, it was all so surreal. Once he got himself back together he continued

"you survived, but barely. Not many people survive being shot in the heart yet you managed somehow. Three months later you were back to work a little worn around the edges but more determined than ever. While you were recovering, I'd been contacted by a man who knew all the parties involved and the pieces but it was far too dangerous at that time for him to just hand it over. too many lives would've been lost. He told me I had to get you to let go, at least temporarily, and to not tell you about the call. It was a difficult choice but I obeyed. It was another three years before we got the king pin. Two years later we were both shot by one of his associates. We survived that, then five years later we were ambushed. You were killed and me, well I was paralyzed. Esposito and Ryan took the shooter, and last remaining associate but it was too late for both of us, the damage was done. Do you see now why I say give it to Jordan and don't try to do this yourself?"

As he told the story Beckett could tell there was far more emotion involved in the story than one would have talking about a friend but she decided to ask about that in a few minutes. She thought on the story, everything he'd said happened. She understood what he was talking about

"alright, I'll do what you say on this one"


	4. Chapter 4

She takes the packets as he hands them to her, one of them already addressed to Jordan. She wants to look but she doesn't, she just sets them on the coffee table.

"Can I ask you something Castle?"

Castle watched her set down the packets, surprised she didn't rip her copy open.

"You can ask me anything you want Kate"

She lifted his hand and smoothed her thumb over his wedding ring

"We get together in your timeline don't we?"

He bites his lower lip and nods slowly

"It took four long years to get together, a year to get engaged, then a year and a half after that to get married. We butted heads a lot but we had a happy life until you were killed. That's one of the things I came back for, to try and save you both the pain and uncertainty of waiting. The me you met on the Tisdale case is nothing but a mask. You saw a peek through that mask on the nanny case. I.. he, even now, wants a real relationship with you Kate. I know you're wounded and have your walls but Kate... he'll help heal you as you heal him. Let him in"

He smiled lovingly at her while she contemplated his words. She felt that spark with him the moment he stopped being a complete jackass but she was afraid of it, terrified by it really.

"The persona... page six, how true is it?"

He shook his head

"Not at all. I mean maybe one or two a year but the vast VAST majority of it was just publicity. Kate, I know you don't believe in magic and fate. But you two are soul mates. No matter what happened, even before we were a couple, we always came back together. You'd get so mad that the vein on your forehead looked like it would rupture, kick me out of your life, then we'd apologize and be back at one anothers side. We forgave each other for things we'd never have forgiven anyone else for. We were magnets, drawn to each other by the universe"

She nodded again, her eyes on his wedding band she bites her lower lip

"Do you... do you have pictures?"

He nodded and pulled an envelope out of his jacket pocket. He'd carefully put the packet together of pictures with just them in them, or with the boys and Lanie. None of the kids, future captains. Their wedding, honeymoon, Christmas', anniversaries, a handful that are x-rated that are snapshots from times they got a little kinky and recorded themselves. Just a lot of pictures of them from when they started dating on.

She took the envelope and pulled out the large handful of pictures. Her eyes got misty with a longing smile as she went from one picture to the next until she got to the first x-rated one. Her eyes got wide, her face turned red in a bright blush and her voice was a mixture of shock, embarrassment and lust

"RICH-ARD CAS-TLE!"

He put on his innocent tone

"What? Just giving you a preview"

He leaned to see which one

"hopefully my younger body will appreciate that position better, I couldn't sit straight for a week after that"

She sputters a few times then just keeps going through the pictures. The last picture on the pile one of them standing together. He's behind her with his arms around her, his hands resting on her nine months pregnant belly

"We have kids?"

She asked as she looked up, he smiled and nodded

"yes, we have a wonderful family together. You're an amazing mother, even if you did nearly have a stroke every time our eldest cried. I think all new parents do that. Aside from that you took to it like a duck to water"

Another tear escaped down her cheek, one of her biggest fears being laid to rest. She takes a deep shuddering breath

"am I allowed to tell him about you? let him see the pictures?"

He shrugged a bit

"I don't see why not. You can tell him everything I told you about us, he'll believe it. I've always believed in things like magic, time travel, aliens, cryptozoology, so on and so forth. It might even help his transition out from under his mask"

She nodded with a smile as she put the pictures back in the envelope

"Is there anything else I should know?"

Castle thinks for a few moments before nodding

"later in your career you take the captains exam. Take the rank for pay, don't take the position though. You were a terrible terrible desk jockey. You'd get your paperwork done then be out working on cases instead of minding the pen"

He chuckled a bit at that and shook his head

"Your ex boyfriend Will Sorenson will show up. Keep it professional, he only wants in your pants. You'll meet a guy in the gym named Tom Demming, don't spar with him. When he comes to help on a case he'll think the sparring is the start of a relationship. In my timeline it was and it almost did us in. It'd be best to just not go there at all, he's a bit of an ass if he thinks he gets a bite only to get shoved off the hook"

He leans back in his chair rubbing at his chest again as he thinks through everything. Some memories clear, others not so much anymore. Beckett watches him, concerned but holding off till he's finished.

"Lanie and Esposito are made for each other, you need to kick Lanie's ass when they hook up and get her over her commitment phobia. Otherwise they both end up in marriages where they're content, maybe a little happy, but nothing like what they had together. I think that's about all that I should pass along"


	5. Chapter 5

Beckett nods, thinking when he leaves she needs to write all this stuff down. She motions to his chest

"Why do you keep rubbing at your chest? Heart burn?"

He shook his head at that

"No, heart failure. When I left my timeline the doctors estimated I had maybe a week left but I had to see you again, just one last time just in case there isn't an afterlife you know? I wont survive the trip back"

Becketts eyes widen, her expression looking crestfallen at the knowledge that when this version of Castle leaves he'll die.

"Don't look like that Kate. I've made my peace with it, said my goodbyes to the kids and told them that I love them. They understand why I had to come, a lot better than my psychiatrist does actually"

He chuckled a bit and watched as Beckett stood up and moved over next to him. Without a word she just pulls him into a hug. It takes a moment but his arms tremble as they move around her hugging her back, tears escaping freely down his cheeks. He never thought he'd ever hold her again so this is a dream come true for him. After a few minutes she finally stands up straight and smiles

"You looked like you needed that"

Castle laughed through a few more tears

"You have no idea Kate, it's been twenty years"

She smoothed her hand over his beard, unable to fathom the pain and loneliness he'd felt

"I'm glad I could give you something when you've given me so much"

He just smiled at her, his eyes still teary. He finally sniffles and takes a deep breath

"I best get going, if I don't you'll have to explain why you have a dead seventy five year old Richard Castle in your living room and I don't want you to end up in the mental ward"

Her eyes sadden at that, her hand stopping on his cheek. After a minute she nods

"Yeah, that would be hard to explain. Thanks Castle, for Mom's case, for steering me in the right direction, just... for everything"

He raised his hand and rested it over hers on his cheek

"I wanted to give you and him the most time together possible instead of the short time we got. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but in this timeline I can give you longer. Be happy Kate, it'll be scary sometimes but don't run. Stand strong and hold onto him no matter what"

She leaned down and kissed his forehead softly

"I will Castle, you can rest in peace knowing that I will"

He grinned at that and let her hand go. Once she stepped clear he looked at a button pinned to his shirt. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and pressed it as smoothly as he'd push an elevator button. Moments later he was gone leaving behind the packets and pictures.

Beckett shed a tear knowing that was his final breath and that when he appeared in his timeline their children would be soon burying him next to her. She reflected on that for a minute and then everything he'd told her. After a few minutes she picked up the packet for her and carried it into her room. She didn't open it, she just opened the box containing her copy of her mothers files and set it on top of the stack. Once the lid was back on she slid it to the back of her closet.

After a quick shower, she made herself up nicely but not overly nice, then gathered the picture envelope and the packet to mail to the F.B.I. She'd decided to not wait another day to step onto the road the older Castle had showed her. The only stop she made on her way to Castles' loft was to drop the sealed packet in a mailbox. When she arrived, she knocked on the door and smiled as she was greeted by a surprised Castle.

"Beckett? Do we have a body?"

Beckett shook her head

"No Rick, but I have one Hell of a story to tell you"


	6. Chapter 6-Epilogue

Ten years later Beckett pulls up to Castles' Hamptons beach house. She'd resigned from the force after their third/fourth children were born a few years back so she could be a full time mother. Her mothers case was long since solved, all the parties involved convicted before her and Castle had celebrated their first year of dating.

She'd started writing shortly after their eldest was born, an autobiography of the real Nikki Heat. It was an immediate best seller and, as she put it, she caught the bug. Unlike her husband, Beckett focused her writing on true crime stories. She always did like the weird ones, so those are the ones she wrote. Her fame soon became equal to her husbands.

So there they were in the driveway of their summer home. It was Memorial Day weekend and the kids were so excited that they'd turned down stopping for ice cream, which had made their father pout. She got out of the van, moved around and pulled open the slider letting the four oldest out first. They stampeded past her and Castle and stormed the beach with glee. She shook her head with a laugh, unbuckled their two year old and handed him to Castle. Then plucked their newborn daughter out of her car seat, grabbing the diaper bag last.

An hour later they were settled in beach chairs, five of the six kids building sandcastles and dropping tiny crabs into the 'moats', their newborn asleep in her swing. Beckett reached over and gave Castle's hand a squeeze.

"you know Rick, I was thinking about the day the older you showed up while we were driving up here"

He laughed softly and returned the squeeze

"I'd wondered why you were so quiet. What made you think of him?"

She shrugged one shoulder a bit

"I don't know, it just shows up sometimes usually when I'm at my happiest because, from what he told me, if he hadn't come back the life he had would have repeated itself and I'm very glad that it didn't"

Castle grinned, leaned over and kissed her softly

"I'm glad it didn't too, I wouldn't trade our life together for anything or anyone. We have a good life"

She returned the kiss and grinned back at him

"That we do, the best life, and even ten years in it's still just starting"

He kissed her again, this one continuing yet staying chaste so they don't get worked up. Kate Beckett couldn't imagine her life could be any happier and if it could, her husband would find a way.

In another timeline, Johanna Castle had just sent her father's remains to a funeral home. She returned to her lab and turned on a viewer. She smiled at the scene, despite her aching heart.

"You did it Daddy, you got them their always"


End file.
